Saw-mill set-works



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

T. S. WILKIN.

SAW MILL SET WORKS. No. 835,168. i Patented Feb. 2, 1886.

(No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet 2.

T. s. WILKIN.

- SAW MILL SET WORKS. 4 No. 335,168. Patented Feb. 2, 1886?.

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' l N IP# o Q o (rj 1 o JV (No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet 3.

T. S. WILKIN. SAW MILL SET WORKS.

No. 885,188. vlmema Peb. 2, 1888.

Winesses:

N. PETERS, Pnomiimugnphnr. Washington. D C.

NITED STATES PATENT Orman.

THEODORE S. YVVILKIN, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

SAW-MILL SETWORKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 335,168, dated February 2, 1886.

Application tiled August 4, 1885. Serial No. 173,496.

To all whom it' may concern:

Be it known that I, THEoDoRE S.WILKIN, of Milwaukee, inthe county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in' Saw-Mill Set- Works, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to saw-mill set-works, and is designed as an improvement upon the mechanism for which Letters Patent of the United States were granted to me bearing date the 3d day of March, 1885, and numbered 313,396.

In the aforesaid patent the knees were advanced and receded by uid-pressure from a source outside of the carriages; but in the present apparatus the movements in both directions are effected by pneumatic pressure accumulated through the operation of a pump carried upon the carriage and operated through the travel thereof.

I may here remark that I am aware that the travel of the carriage has been utilized to con1- press air to recede the knees, and this I do not broadly claim; but, so far as I am aware, it is new to combine with a sawmill carriage an air forcing or compressing apparatus operated through the travel of the carriage, and serving to provide the necessary power to both advance and recede the knees.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a saw-mill carriage provided With my improved mechanism; Fig. 2, a top plan view; Fig. 3, a side view, partly in section, Fig. 4, a cross-sectional view ofthe carriage; Fig. 5, a detail view.

A indicates the carriage, supported upon axles B, carried by wheels C, which travel upon rails, as usual. Upon the carriage are mounted headblocks D, in which are arranged sliding knees E, having toothed rack-bars F at their under sides, connected either rigidly or otherwise with the knee, both arrangements being common and well known, and this matter being wholly outside of the present invention.

G indicates the setshaft, which, as usual, is j ournaled in suitable boxes bolted to the framing of the carriage and furnished with a series of pinions, LEI-one to engage with and move each rack-bar F and its knee E.

Heretofore it has been customary to place (No model.)

upon the set-shaft G a ratchet-wheel, and to provide pawl-and-lever mechanism by which to rotate the shaft, and thus to advance and recede the knees, but in the present instance such mechanism is not applied directly to the set-shaft. In lien of the ordinary arrangement,I provide said shaft with a bevel-pinion, I, to which motion is given by a similar pinion, J, on a shaft, K, standing at right angles to shaft G, journaled in boxes on the frame of the carriage, and also provided with a pinion, L. Motion is given to pinion L by means of atoothed rack-bar, M, attached to or forming an extension of the rod of apiston, N, moving in a cylinder, O, to which air is admitted, preferably by arotary four-way cock, I. A slide-valve may of course be used instead of the four-way cock; but the latter is deemed better for the purpose.

Q, indicates an air-forcing pump or compressor, driven by suitable connection with a wheel or axle of the carriage, the drawings showing the piston-rod of the pump provided with a yoke,in which an eccentric, c, secured upon one of the axles B, works as the axle rotates. The pump forces air to cylinder O, either directly or, as is deemed advisable, through the medium of a compressed-air res ervoir, It, provided with a-checkvalve, b, at the inlet-opening c, and with an escape or safety valve, d, Which 4may be set to open at any desired pressure. Under this arrangement the travel of the carriage and consequent rotation of the axleB and its eccentric a causes the pump or air-compressor Q to supply air directly or indirectly, as above mentioned, to the cylinder O, which it enters on one or the other side of the piston, according to the position of the valve P, which is set and controlled by a hand-lever, S, in convenient position for operation by the Sawyer. The air thus entering the cylinder and acting upon the piston forces the latter forward or backward, as the case may be, thereby movingI the rackbar, which rotates pinion L and its shaft K, and through the bevel-pinions I and J to setshaft G, which causes the required movement of the knees.

As explained in my former patent above mentioned, it is impracticable to accurately control or regulate the movement of the knees through the valve alone, and for that reason I IOO again provide mechanism for controlling such movements, the power for producing the movel ment being supplied by the pnr'eumatic apparatus. This mechanism is plainly shown in Figs. 2 and 4, in which T` indicates a wormlWheel keyed or made fast upon the set-shaft G, and U a screw or worm meshing with the Worm-wheel T. The pitch of the worm-Wheel is such that rotation cannot be imparted to the worm from the worm-wheel solong as they arein mesh, and consequently the worm-wheel can only be rotated forward as permitted by the worm or screw, which is effected manually by the attendant and at such rate or to such extent only as the setting of the knees demands.

To rotate the worm or screw as required, l employ a ratchet-wheel, V, keyed upon the shaft NV, which carries thc worm, and a handwheel, X, carrying reversible pawls Y, which may be made to engage with the ratchet-wheel V and to turn it either way required. The

' short horizontal shaft W is carried at its ends in boxes or bearings Z, connected by a light open frame, A', the said frame Al being pivotallyfsupported at the inner side of the carriage by an upright or bracket, B, secured to the longitudinal timbers of the carriage, as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 4. i

Projecting from the inside of the carriage is a bracket, O', in which is journaled an elbowlever, D', whose upright arm D2 is provided with a locking-dog, E, to engage with an arc, F', concentric with its pivot e. The lower arm, D3, as shown in Fig. 4, extends parallel with and below the shaft W, and terminates beneath the end of the latter, the arm Da being connected by a link, G', with the box Z at the free end of the shaft WV. By rocking the lever D upon its pivot e the frame A is tipped and the worm V thrown out of engagement with the worm-wheel T. When in this position, the pneumatic mechanism,operating through pinion I, shaft K, and pinions J I, operates the shaft G and recedes the knees without being retarded or affected by the pawland-ratchet mechanism.. This permits the knees to be receded quickly and without loss of time, which of course is a matter of importance.v

With the apparatus thus constructed and arranged it will be seen that it is only necessary to cause the travel of the carriage over its track a sufficient number of times to accumulate a due pressure of air in the reservoir B, after which the knees will be moved as required by opening the cock or valve P and rotating the screw or worm U in the proper direction, the air-pressure effecting the required movements at a rate controlled by the rotation of the screw, the carriage coming to rest and being held against movement by the screw or worm whenever the latter ceases to turn.

In case of necessity the set-shaft may be rotated by the worm; but under ordi-nary circumstances this will not be done, the worm being commonly used merely lto regulate the movements of the knees.

It is of course feasible to operate the aircompressor by a separate wheel running along the track, or by a pinion meshing with a stationary rack-bar beneath the carriage and between the outside of the rail 5 but the plan illustrated is deemed best.

The same air-compressing mechanism can be made to operate the dogs carried by the knees.

I am aware that it is not broadly new to mount a cylinder upon a saw-mill carriage and to force and compress air therein through the movements of the carriage to recede the knees.

Under my construction the movement of the carriage in either direction forces the air into the cylinder and compresses it therein, and the air thus compressed serves not only to s et the knees forward, but also to recede them. This has not been accomplished by any prior construction of which I am aware. In accomplishingV this object I avoid the necessity of having the knees set up manually, it being only necessary to allow the worm to turn (as controlled by the pawl-and-ratchet mechanism) slowly, and thus to control the setting of the knees. A regulating or controlling device of substantially this nature is requisite, for if there were no such regulator the knees would be set too far forward by the air-compressor connections.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. In combination with a sawmill carriage, an air-compressor mounted wholly upon the carriage and bodily movable therewith, said compressor being adapted and arranged to be operated through or by reason of the travel of the carriage and to furnish air to mechanism on the carriage.

2. In combination with a saw-mill carriage, ,and with log-handling mechanism thereon, an air-compressor driven by connection with a truck of the carriage, a cylinder, a piston within said cylinder connected with the log mechanism of the carriage, anda valve between the air-compressor and the cylinder, to cause the air to enter upon either side of the piston at will.

3. In combination with a saw-mill carriage, its knees and set-shaft, an aircompressor mounted wholly upon and operated by the travel of the carriage, a cylinder receiving IOO IIO

air from the compressor, a piston within said ated by the eccentric a, a cylinder, O. receiving air from compressor Q, a valve, l?, controlling the inlet and outlet of air to and from said cylinder, a piston, N, within said cylinder, a rack-bar, M, connected with said piston, a set-shaft, G, provided with pinions H, a series of sliding knees, E, mounted upon the carriage and having racks F, meshing with the set-shaft pinions, a shaft carrying a bevel-pinion, J, meshing With a like pinion,`

I, on the set-shaft, and a pinion, L, meshing with the rack-bar M, a Worm-Wheel, T, keyed fast upon the set-shaft, a worm, U, meshing with said Worm-whe`el, and a level' for rotating the Worm.

5. In combination with a saw-mill carriage and its sliding knees, and an aircompressor mounted upon and operated through the travel of the carriage, a cylinder receiving air therefrom, a piston Within said cylinder connected through intermediate gearing With the set-shaft, a Worm-Wheel mounted upon the set-shaft, and a Worm meshing with said worm- Wheel and serving to regulate or control its rotation.

6. In combination with the set-shaft of a saw-mill carriage, and With mechanism for rotating said shaft, a worm-wheel secured upon said shaft, and a Worm meshing with the Worm-wheel, and adapted to be rotated manually to permit and control the rotation of the set-shaft.

7. In combination with a saw-mill carriage "and its sliding knees, and an air-compressor mounted upon and operated through the travel of the carriage, a cylinder receiving air therefrom, a piston Within said cylinder connected with the set-shaft, a worm-Wheel mounted on thelatter, and a worm meshing with said Worm-Wheel and adapted to be disengaged therefrom at Will.

8. In combination with the set-shaft of a saw-mill carriage, and with mechanism for rotating said shaft, a Worm-wheel secured upon said shaft, a Worm meshing with the Worm-Wheel adapted to be rotated manually to permit and control the rotation of the setshaft, a pivotal box or hearing for said Wormshaft, a hand-lever journaled upon the frame, and a link connecting the hand-lever and the free end of the Worm-shaft.

THEODORE S. VILKIN.

Witnesses:

CHARLES ALLIs, EDW. Z. ALLIsoN. 

